Souvenir
by A-Hard-Days-Night
Summary: She was dirty. Contaminated. Filled with everything Draco hated. Yet, somehow, he still yearned for her. DracoHermione ficlet.


_My first Dramione fic.. Not sure what prompted me to write this for I rarely do read this pairing.. It's been growing on me lately, even though I know it will never happen in canon. But that's one of the reasons we have fanfictions, eh?_

_I also wrote a drabble of the same pairing called "Only Kisses" if you want to check it out, it will be posted sometime today._

_I own nothing._

* * *

Hermione Granger was never one to be fancied by the boys at Hogwarts; how she got Krum to take her to the Yule Ball was beyond Draco. A reporter once described her as 'Plain but simple' – a girl who failed to stand out from all the other luscious Hogwarts ladies.

The memorable Yule Ball was the solitary night of Hermione's life where she was noticed; the periwinkle blue robes she wore showed off every curve and her sleek hair brought attention to her face. Students, including Draco, found it difficult to take their eyes off the girl, but unlike the others, Draco was gaping at her appalling appearance. What had she done to herself?

Contrary to popular belief, Draco liked his girls natural, _not_ on the verge of morphing into a bloody whore.

She was gorgeous in his eyes because she did not give a bloody care about her looks. Her bushy hair was always on the verge of breaking free from the pathetic pins she wedged in her curls in futile attempts to keep it tame. Each time Draco witnessed a pin struggling to escape the confinements of her locks; he longed to be the one put it right.

To run his fingers through her frizzy curls, messing it up even more.

Her past was alien to Draco: Muggle home, Muggle school, Muggle everything. She was dirty. Contaminated. Filled with everything Draco hated. Yet, somehow, he still yearned for her.

* * *

The library was a disgusting place, usually filled with first year students attempting to impress their professors by pulling quotations that were beyond the eleven year olds' comprehension, and sticking them into their essays. Draco Malfoy preferred to do his library research in the early hours of the morning to avoid the unwanted crowd. Thus, leaving Draco to deal with the long trudge to the library on a foggy morning to sift through several books for background information to help him with his Transfiguration essay. 

The sun was battling to shine through the thick mist, and failing miserably, coating the Hogwarts library in a dull, depressing, gloom.

Draco smiled as he entered the library. It was deserted: just as he expected it to be. As he aimlessly strolled through the numerous aisles, he inhaled deeply; the smell of old books made him relaxed and tranquil.

However, being hit in the head by something small and sharp was not at all soothing. Snapping out of his trance, Draco's eyes traveled to his feet where the offending object had fallen to the floor with a metallic _ping_.

It was a hairpin.

Picking it up, he noticed movement in the corner of his eye. It was Hermione Granger, too absorbed in her textbook to notice that one of her pins had escaped and nearly took out Draco's eye. He stood transfixed and silent for several moments, appeased by the site and terrified to be noticed by her.

She looked up, finally detecting Draco.

"What are you doing, Malfoy? Come to hex me when I least expect it?" snapped Hermione, with narrowed eyes and discreetly pulled out her wand.

"Sorry, Granger," Draco said without the attitude that Hermione was so accustomed to, as he closed his fingers around her fugitive hairpin. Her face relaxed at his serene voice. "I thought I was alone." Before he could utter words that he would regret later, he turned his back on her and quickly strode away.

As he left, his fist tightened around his souvenir. It was the closest Draco would ever get to the woman he loved.

* * *

_Thanks for reading!_

_This could be open up for a chaptered fic.. Should it? But be warned, I'm a terrible updater.. Sometimes it's two day's wait, and other's its eight months. Best thing would be to put it on your alert list if you're terribly anxious._

_Virtual cookies for reviewers._

_- Dana_


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